A piece of Japanese incense

After the father-in-law left, there were sighs all over the room:

"Why are you punishing me? This has nothing to do with me!"

"Why are you punishing us? You shouldn't punish Zhi Yihe!"

……

"Don't pay attention to them, girl. It's okay! Yuyi and I will help you copy!"

"Are you looking for me?"

"Okay, okay, silence!" Master Pei walked unsteadily into the school.

"Let's talk after school." I closed the window and sat back in my seat.

After class, as expected, Fang Juexia and Ye Shi found me again.

"Zhi Yihe, it's all your fault! If you weren't so fickle and hadn't provoked the emperor's grandchildren, how could you have implicated us and made us copy the manuscripts!"

"Just copy everything from me and my brother, and let's forget about it."

"I want to copy mine too!"

"Don't go too far. Why should I ask my girl to copy for you?" Yu Tuan stood in front of me and shouted at the top of her voice.

"Why, have you forgotten the lesson from yesterday? Haven't you been beaten enough?"

Ye Shi turned his wrist and approached the jade ball.

"Sisters, are you no longer itchy?" I suddenly stood up from my seat.

"How dare you bring up what happened yesterday and make us look bad in public!"

Just as Ye Shi raised her hand and was about to drop it, I grabbed her wrist tightly and couldn't help laughing.

"You...what are you crazy about again!" Fang Juexia stammered.

"Just copy it, why not? I'm giving it to you, right? Okay, I'll copy yours and your brother's. I'll copy them all."

"Girl! How can I finish copying this..."

I covered Yutuan's mouth and said with a fake smile, "Do you have any other instructions, sisters?"

"That's better! It would have been better if you did this earlier. My hand still hurts." Fang Juexia blew on the palm of his hand.

After another round of sarcasm, they finally left.

"Girl! Why did you agree to them?!"

"Hey, what were you going to tell me before?"

Yu Tuan leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Oh, it's Xiao Ke. He said he hopes to meet the girl at midnight tonight."

"where?"

"Xianfeng Pavilion."

"Okay, let's go back."

On the way back to the Women's Academy, I stopped behind a big tree, where a long shadow was reflected on the ground.

"Who is hiding there? Come out?" Yu Tuan shouted.

Princess Qi nervously poked her head out from behind the tree, like a chick exposed to an eagle.

"Princess Qi?"

"Greetings, Princess Qi! I am sorry for the offense." Yu Tuan immediately bowed.

"It's okay, I was abrupt."

"What is Princess Qi doing hiding behind the tree? Why is no one following her?"

"They all went to eat, I...I thought, I should return the handkerchief to you..."

I smiled and declined: "I bought this to thank you, the princess. It's just a small token of my gratitude. Please accept it, the princess."

"I...I heard they asked you to copy books for them. Otherwise, I will copy them for you."

I stepped forward and held her hand, full of gratitude: "Princess, you are so kind~ But no need~ I am so touched!"

"Then...then I won't accept this handkerchief."

I laughed in silence and responded sincerely, "Princess Qi, I gave you this handkerchief because you are good and you deserve it, not because I want you to return it. You are someone I met after entering the palace, so I want to be friends with you. I want to see you happy because of this handkerchief, not to take back a return gift. If you feel pressured, you can throw it away. Let me take my leave first."

"No! Sorry... I'll just accept it." Princess Qi still lowered her head, holding the brocade box.

I plucked up my courage and tried to comfort her: "Princess Qi is of an extremely noble status, and is the dream of many people in the world. Why don't you stand up straight and be the person you want to be? As long as you want, you can be whatever you want, right?"

Princess Qi's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

"Princess, don't stand in the fog, don't cling to meaningless things. I know you're having a hard time, but I hope you're willing to get better."

"Thank you, you and he..."

I turned back to her and asked, "Me and who?"

The princess shook her head gently, laughed softly, looked up, and said, "Thank you for the handkerchief. I like it very much."

I laughed quietly, "If you have time, you can come and play with me often."

"Yes, yes, we have planted a lot of vegetables in our yard, and there are many delicious foods. We welcome the princess!" Yutuan added enthusiastically.

The princess smiled brightly and nodded in agreement.

After sending the princess to Jiuqu Pavilion, Yutuan and I returned to the girls' school.

"Recite the Book of Rites four times!" Yu Yi was so shocked that her mouth couldn't close.

"I don't know what the girl is thinking." Yu Tuan muttered reluctantly.

“Oh, I may not be able to write yet.” I replied to them.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Have you spread the news about the pond in Fang Juexia's yard?"

"I told him when I went to the imperial kitchen this morning. Old Li also said that he would go to deliver dinner to Fang Juexia today and make some money at the same time." Yu Tuan laughed.

"Then the person behind this should also take action as soon as possible. Hey, after we have dinner, let's go to her yard to see what the situation is."

"Okay! Hey! Girl, what do you think we should do if they really fish out the silver piece?"

"Just fish it out. Maybe Fang Juexia will find it interesting and make a hole in it, thread a red string through it, and hang it around her neck."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

We looked into the courtyard through the hanging flower gate and saw Fang Juexia lying in the yard, cracking melon seeds and urging a few young eunuchs to fish in the small pond. There were four or five palace maids and eunuchs kneeling in front of her.

"Hurry up and tell us who has hidden the silver! Tell us now! And you too! If anyone dares to harbor even the slightest selfish motive, I will break your legs and throw you into a mass grave to die!"

A eunuch hurriedly passed by us, and I recognized him as the last person in the group of people who had followed Princess Yan to the Women's School to find Fang Juexia.

(Why did he come? Could it be that Princess Yan was also curious about the pond with silver, so she sent him to check it out?)

While I was thinking, Yu Tuan said to himself, "Hey! Why are you ignoring me?"

Yuyi put down Yutuan's raised hand and warned in a low voice: "Yutuan, be careful and don't let anyone find out."

"what happened?"

"The one who just passed by was Xiao Xizi from the imperial kitchen. He saw me and I greeted him, but he ignored me~ Humph!"

"You said he was from the imperial kitchen?"

"Yes, he and Xiao Duan entered the palace together. Every time I went to the imperial kitchen to look for Xiao Duan, he was there. We often chatted."

"What does he do in the imperial kitchen?"

"It seems... Xiao Duan and I are both chef supervisors."

"Who's sneaking around outside the yard?"

When Fang Juexia's voice sounded, we quickly slipped away quietly.

Fang Juexia could be heard shouting from afar: "Guard the door for me, don't let even a fly in!"